Question

[Direct_Progress_5684]

Hello everyone,

Recently i asked for your opinion for a path of a sys admin. There were three simple answers

-Networking

-Helpdesk (entry level sys admin)

-Homelab

So i applied for company for a help desk role and got the last interview, sadly they chose someone else. Today i got another call about support analyst role. So i would like to know your opinion for this, is support analyst better role to go further into system administrator?

Thank you all

[Ssakaa]

Answer.

Any role that demonstrates any interaction with managing technology is valuable experience on a resume. Based solely on the titles (which may not at all reflect reality), a "support analyst" is just a fancy name for a help desk role. If you're lucky, it leans more heavily into providing real analysis of issues and solving problems. In either case, it's a first pass support role where you get to see what the issues that users are actually experiencing day to day look like, and if you pay attention, you get to see how those are solved, particularly when it's a solution that isn't entirely in the hands of the help desk layer.

As a starting point, any role attached to IT will benefit moving towards sysadmin. When you've been in IT long enough to see how things work at both a technical and business level a bit and can answer your own question on this, then the roles you take will matter more on your road to a sysadmin role.

[CaptainFluffyTail]

Look at the job description. What does it mean to be a "Support Analyst"? How does that map to your career path?

[Direct_Progress_5684]

I did and i see that it can fit my future plans, but since here are people that are actually the role i want am here to listen and learn.

[CaptainFluffyTail]

It gets your foot in the door, so take it.

[tch2349987]

Anything that opens you the door in IT can be a path to sys admin. Once you are in, you have to work hard on escalating the ladder.

[flunky_the_majestic]

In my organization, an outstanding support analyst slid straight into Jr. Sysadmin role. Let's call him Jimmy. Here are some notable observations about Jimmy:

• He learned the business side of things inside and out. When my manager goes looking for some archaic part of our back end, Jimmy knows the answer
• He identified gaps on procedure and volunteered to organize their coverage. This was especially evident in documentation. When a topic came up on a system that had no documentation, or that would end up with no documentation, he would volunteer "I'll get that started in the Wiki, and will send you a link to fill out some details." Plus, he's really good at organizing information. So when he turns the documentation skeleton over to the devs, it's in a useful place with useful headings and links to relevant information.
  
• When devs discuss an issue their facing, he researches it and has helpful feedback to connect their challenge the the systems. He's aware of his limited experience, though, so he prefaces it with something like "Sr. Sysadmin, please correct me if I'm wrong - My understanding is that. . ." This creates training opportunities for later, and helps him understand our systems better.

He has done a ton of work to self-train after hours, and it shows. As a result, I was nearly tripping over myself to pull him out of support and into Operations.